Bangladesh, India sign 19 instruments

Bangladesh and India have signed 19 instruments to boost ties in the areas of trade, transit, investment and economic cooperation, BSS reports. The two countries also signed deals in the fields of telecommunication, security, infrastructure development, education, science and technology, information and communication technology and culture. The instruments include five agreements, 12 MoUs and three protocols and one letter of consent.

The instruments were signed after the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here today.
Later, officials of the two countries exchanged the documents before the two leaders spoke to the press on the outcome of their meeting. The agreements signed between the two countries are: Renewal of Bilateral Trade Agreement, Coastal Shipping Agreement, Bilateral Cooperation Agreement between BSTI-BIS on cooperation in the field of Standardization, Agreement and Protocol on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati Bus Service and Agreement and Protocol on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service.

The MoUs are: MoU between Coast Guards of India and Bangladesh, MoU on Prevention of Human Trafficking, MoU on Prevention of Smuggling of Fake Currency Notes, MoU for extending a new Line of Credit of US 2 billion dollars by India to Bangladesh, MOU on use of Chittagong and Mongla Ports, MoU on Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, MoU for a Project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) of SAARC, MoU on BGB-BSF Cooperation, MoU on Indian Economic Zone, MoU between Jamia Millia Islamia (JM) and Rajshahi University, MoU between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India and Dhaka University for Joint Research on Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal, and MoU between BSNL and BSCCL for Leasing of International Bandwidth for Internet at Akhaura.

The two countries also signed Inland Waterways Transit and Trade (PIWTT) Protocol, and a consent letter between Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) of Bangladesh and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India for starting operation in the areas of life insurance.